What is professional accreditation? Professional accreditation is a set of standards established by associations of professionals in a particular specialization. It is a voluntary and essentially self-regulating process, the purpose of which is to establish and maintain uniform standards for education and training. In general, professional accreditation sets standards for the breadth and depth of the curriculum and the quality of the faculty and facilities of the educational program. Professional accreditation can apply to undergraduate, graduate, and/or first professional programs, depending on the field.

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation, CHEA, in its 1997-98 Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education, defines professional or specialized accreditation on page 687 as follows:

"Specialized accreditation of professional or occupational schools and programs is granted by national professional organizations in such fields as business, dentistry, engineering and law. Each of these groups has its distinctive definitions of eligibility, criteria for accreditation, and operating procedures, but all have undertaken accreditation activities primarily to provide quality assurances concerning the educational preparation of members of the profession or occupation. Many of the specialized accrediting bodies will consider requests for accreditation reviews only from programs affiliated with institutions holding comprehensive accreditation. Some specialized agencies, however, accredit professional programs at institutions not otherwise accredited. These generally are independent institutions which offer only the particular specified discipline or course of study in question."

Why does the United States have professional accreditation? Because the United States government does not operate direct or centralized Federal control over education, and because accreditation is a non-governmental and voluntary system, individual professional organizations evolved a system standards for of self-regulation.

What is the significance of professional accreditation for non-U.S. students? Although the significance varies tremendously from one profession to another, professional accreditation confers quality control and an assurance of adherence to external standards above and beyond the standards of the educational institution offering a particular course of study. Professional accreditation bodies and their standards rapidly expanded their influence in the 1990's and in some cases are becoming the international standard of choice. Overseas educational advisors find that guiding international students towards a professionally accredited undergraduate or graduate program provides reliable assurance of quality. Professional accreditation is like health insurance: it may not be mandatory, but you're much safer if you have it.

Professional accreditation as an assurance of quality: Educational programs that are professionally accredited have subjected their curriculum and facilities to a rigorous evaluation against external standards commonly held by the profession concerned. International students can review the professional accreditor's standards and obtain a current list of accredited programs by contacting the association or visiting its web site.

Graduation from a professionally accredited program is a requirement for licensing or practice in certain professions: Some of the professions that require graduation from an accredited program as a condition for employment in the field include: engineering, architecture, library science, social work, and all health professions (medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, nursing, lab technology, and the various allied health fields).

Other professions give preference or smooth the way to licensure for graduates of professionally accredited programs, but do not strictly require it: law, accounting, teacher education, interior design. Still other fields regard professional accreditation as an asset, but it is considered optional: business, journalism and mass communications, art and design, computer science, dance, forestry, music, planning, public affairs and administration, public health, theology.

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation, or CHEA, was formed in 1996 to review and grant recognition to higher education accrediting bodies. CHEA recognition carries considerable weight in academic circles. The United States Department of Education (DOE) also reviews and grants recognition to institutional accrediting bodies; U.S. students can only get U.S. government financial aid if the institution they attend is accredited by a recognized DOE accreditor. This does not apply to professional accreditation.

Given the independent and voluntary nature of the various professional accreditation groups, it is not surprising that some have opted to operate independently of CHEA. Two of the more prominent independent professional accreditors are AACSB (business and accounting) and NAAB (architecture). They are widely respected as the authority on professional standards in their respective fields, but are not affiliated with CHEA.

Sources of information on professional accrediting bodies: 1997-98 Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education: The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The sole authority on institutional accreditation. Most advisors keep it on their desks and refer to it daily. Advisors should study the introduction and appendices to learn more about professional accreditation. Directory of College & University Administrators: Peterson's, 1999. The "Index of Specialized and Professional Accreditation on pages 1161-1194 is especially useful as guidance, although some of the fields listed here are not strictly subject to professional accreditation. Lists of Accredited Institutions: distributed by REAC in newsletter Info Packs. Advisors can keep these lists in an alphabetical field of study file for reference when guiding students' choice of study programs. Accrediting Bodies' Web Sites: Use a search engine to locate each accreditor's web site, and bookmark or print out the list of accredited institutions for future reference. The names of the accrediting bodies can be found in CHEA or the Peterson's Directory above. Peterson's Guides to Graduate Study: the six-volume set contains accreditation information on some, but not all, professional accreditors.

Advisors should also be aware that a number of popular advising reference materials do NOT take professional accreditation into consideration, and list program offerings in professional fields regardless of professional accreditation. Some of these include the College Board Index of Majors and College Handbook, as well as Peterson's Four-year Colleges. Students should not select colleges for professional studies from these publications without confirming the professional accreditation from the sources listed above. This is especially important in the case of engineering, architecture, and pharmacy, where professional accreditation is essential.

The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author, Nancy Keteku, REAC/Africa

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